Mass Effect: Iron Hearts
by Dr1ft3r0I
Summary: Humanity found the Prothean ruins on Mars, but the data was corrupted. So, what happens when a race develops outside of the Reapers plans? And what of the machines of war that humanity has made?
1. Time-Line

2025 – Driftech is founded. The U.S. based company specializes in what is considered 'Theoretical technologies,' such as powered armor, lasers, and electron computers. Four years later, they invent the first infantry scale laser weapon. It is then quickly replaced by the M16A8.

2038 – Cold Fusion becomes a usable form of energy, and nuclear fusion is now a reliable source of energy in the face of rising oil costs.

2055 – Driftech Industries creates the X-2 Powered Exoskeleton. The three ton bipedal walker is quickly found in several roles in society, namely heavy construction, search and rescue, and underwater repair.

2057-2061 – World War III breaks out, involving an alliance between the United States, Canada, Mexico, and NATO, and the Asiatic Confederation, involving China and North Korea, with elements in Vietnam and Japan. North Korea fires several nuclear warheads towards the U.S.; all but one is shot down, with the exception hitting the State of Idaho. The U.S. responds by launching a full-scale invasion of North Korea and China. After heavy losses, the U.S. and France develops and fields the M14 Powered Assault Walker. Powered by a small nuclear fusion engine, the M14 all but ends the war. During this time, the M18 General Purpose Walker is also introduced.

2061-2085 – Reconstruction begins. The U.S. and France jointly create the first ever FTL-capable vehicle, the _Osiris_. The _Osiris_ travels to Alpha Centauri in less than three weeks. Humanity rejoices. During this time, development of powered exosuits escalates, resulting in the Japanese Type 20 Heavy Mecha, German _Wanderpanzer_ 12, and the U.S. M35. Colonies spring up on Mars, Europa, Io, Luna, the Asteroid Belt, and several other star systems, including Alpha Centauri, Epsilon Indi, Sirius, and Epsilon Eridani.

2086 – Mars colonists discover an ancient alien ruin. They extract as much data as they can from it, but much of the data is corrupted. Humanity discovers kinetic barriers and element zero, but concerns on the materials viability stop it from being used as fuel. Scientists discover that Charon, a moon of Pluto's, is not actually a moon; it is instead a massive FTL relay that can send ships to distant parts of the galaxy in less than a second. Wary, the U.N. agrees to continue using conventional FTL.

2115 – Riots start on the colony world of Terra Nova, due to unfair business practices. The British Parliament sends in several infantry regiments to bring peace to the planet. When fighting escalates, Parliament sends their fleet in and initiates a blockade. After two months of starvation and disease, the rioters agree to peace talks.

2117 – The Democratic Republic of China begins talks with the U.N. about colonizing several worlds in order to start over after a massive nuclear accident. The U.N. agrees, on condition that the DRC not use this as an opportunity to build up a massive army.

2120 – The United North American Confederate, composed of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, undergoes a recession. The situation isn't helped much by the fact that off-world colonies are having more success than domestic workers. The four year recession is ended only when President West of the U.S., Prime Minister Smith of Canada, and President Hernandez of Mexico jointly create the PEGASIS Project, putting 5.8 million people to work on building a massive space station to house the UNAC Colonial Administration and Mobile Infantry Command.

2150 – Humanity now has several dozen colonies. Now under the banner of the 'Systems Alliance,' the United Nations led organization hopes to keep on exploring the reaches of space. Use of the Charon Relay is infrequent at best, used primarily as a way to ship supplies to the more far-flung colonies. UNAC, the EU, and Russia maintain primary military power, with the DRC and Japan providing technical support.

[:\_/:]

CODEX ENTRY

MECHA: A unique feature of several human militaries, mecha are often described as "tanks with legs," and it is a description well deserved. One mech is fully capable of taking on multiple opponents, both armored and non-armored. Most mecha have one pilot, and a small squad of servicemen and women who maintain and equip it. Mecha can also be fitted with extra ordinance for infantry support, such as artillery, and anti-armor rockets.

U.N.S.V. _Osiris_: The _Osiris_ is humanities first FTL capable ship. A marvel of (then) modern engineering, the _Osiris_ is capable of traveling from Earth to Alpha Centari in a little under three weeks. Now a museum piece, the _Osiris_ stands as a symbol of humanities reach to the stars.

DEEP SPACE APETURE DRIVE: The Deep Space Aperture Drive is the reason that humanity was able to claim the stars. Developed by Driftech (hence its nickname, the 'Drift Drive,'), the deep space aperture drive has allowed humanity to bypass most of the laws of physics in order to achieve FTL. It does so by generating a wormhole large enough for the ship to pass through, and it squeezes the vessel through to the other side. The latest version, the Drift Drive Mk. VIII, is able to send a destroyer nearly six light years a day.

xXx

**Yes, this will be an AU First Contact War story. At first. But don't you worry, I have something in mind for this story, and I hope that you all will enjoy it. If you have any questions, please PM me or leave it in a review. Thanks, and hope you have a good day.**


	2. Contact

MASS EFFECT: IRON HEARTS

_Shanxi, June 5__th__, 2157_

[][][]

"All right, form up!"

United States Army Corporal Caleb Shepherd jogged into formation, his footsteps thundering on the deck beneath him. In front of him, the rest of his combat team, each of them cocooned in an M18/A3 "Minuteman" mech stood at the ready as the transport vessel they were about to step off landed on the colony starport. Looking over, Caleb saw his friend Angelo Veretti fidgeting; not exactly an easy thing in a four ton walking tank.

"Hey, Angelo, you okay?" he asked. Angelo nodded.

"I'm fine," Angelo said as they walked off the transport and onto the tarmac. "It's just that, I miss my home in Italy."

Caleb chuckled. "Yeah, I know the feeling amico," he said as they went over to the hanger. "But hey, you'll get used to it man. Trust me, after we get you settled in here at the barracks, you and I are going to hit the town, and make you forget all about your homesickness!"

"Shepherd, Veretti, fall in on the double!" shouted Sergeant Moore from his M22 Heavy Mech. At twelve meters in height, he dwarfed the pair's five meter tall vehicles both in height, and sheer mass.

"Yes Sergeant!" they both cried out as they hustled over to the hanger bay. In minutes, they were both out of their suits, and off inside of a briefing room while the mechs got swarmed by technicians. The newly arrived pilots didn't have to wait long, as more new arrivals arrived. There was a platoon of U.S. Rangers, and the command platoons of at least three different infantry companies.

"Atten-_shun_!" On reflex, everyone stood up ramrod straight and saluted as a general walked down the aisle to the front of the room.

"As you were," he said, turning around to face them. "Now listen up. I am General Williams, and I am in command of all ground forces here at Shanxi. Now, I'm going to lay down some rules for you, and I expect, no, _require_, you to follow them." From then on, it was pretty much just a standard safety brief, and after that was over, Caleb and Veretti were gladly out of the building, and into their barracks.

"So, what do you think of the new general?" Veretti asked Caleb as they set up their quarters. Caleb shrugged.

"Seems like a good guy," Caleb answered as he pulled out an old Desert Eagle and started cleaning it. "Then again, it isn't like we're going to be seeing any action out here. No pirates, no crazy communist group with a stolen ship, nothing."

Veretti laughed. "With your luck? Who knows my friend?"

[][][]

_Turian Heirarchy Cruiser "Iron Talon", 12__th__ Turian Fleet_

"Sir, there's something you need to see."

General Desolas Arterius was having a pretty good day, up until that ensign spoke up. Sighing, the turian commander turned and walked over to the ensign. "What is it?" he asked.

The ensign gulped. "Sir, we have a portion of the Quarian Flotilla in system, third planet from the sun. Looks like they're mining it sir."

Desolas growled. Damned quarians. Beggars and thieves, the whole lot of them. Served them right, considering the geth, but still, they were a menace to the Council. "Helm, plot in a course to intercept the quarians. They are in our territory, and mining illegally. Weapons, ready disrupter torpedos."

"But sir, shouldn't we hail them?" asked the turian in the communications booth. Desolas turned and glared at the officer. "I see sir. I won't ask against your orders again sir," the officer said, turning back in shame.

Desolas turned and looked at the display screen, showing the many small quarian vessels. "Bring us in range, and destroy them."

[][][]

_Quarian Lab-ship Alarei_

"Captain, we need to leave, now! The turians are closing in!"

Captain Rael'Zorah looked at the pursuing fleet in fear and looked back at the crewmember. "Then go! Take us to the nearest relay and jump through!" he ordered.

"But that would be the 314 Relay!" his helmsman said as she accelerated the _Alarei_ out of danger. "It's inactive, and if we go through, only the ancestors know what's on the other side!"

Rael grunted as a stray mass accelerator round impacted his ship's shields. "I don't care!" he shouted. "Just get us out of here!"

"Yes captain!"

It took a few minutes (and four vessels, damn the turians!) before the small quarian fleet lost the turians. It would be several more days in FTL for them to reach the 314 Relay, activate it, and then go through.

[][][]

_A.C.V. Tim Murphy, Shanxi System, June 9__th__, 2157_

Petty Officer Third Class Alan J. Marshfield was bored. Granted, not many can say that they were bridge crew to a _Vermont _class cruiser, but still, being stuck as the DRADIS operator for the third watch was pretty damn tedious if Marshfield could say. Suddenly, his sensors pinged. Now at full attention, Marshfield checked the DRADIS for where the signal was coming from. It was at the edge of the system, and it wasn't just one signal.

There were fifty of them. And not a single one of them had a single unifying shape, but they all did have the same readings as that element zero stuff back on Mars.

Three minutes later, the captain himself was there on the bridge, and over Marshfield's neck. "What am I looking at?" he asked briskly, not wasting any time.

"Sir, we have fifty unknown contacts, bearing zero-six-zero, with a positive five on local plane," Marshfield answered. "They just popped up right next to that relay sir."

"Captain Archer, we're being hailed!" said Ensign Annette Delacuer. "It's coming from the unknown vessels sir, there's no one else out there to send the signal!"

Archer nodded. "Alright, onscreen, and raise shields. Do not prepare weapons. Let's see what we have here," he ordered, standing at the center of the bridge.

"Aye sir," Delacuer said, tapping away at her console.

A translucent image popped up on the main viewing port: just enough to see them, but not enough to cloud Archer's vision when in combat. And frankly, the sight that Archer got was enough to surprise him. It was an alien.

To emphasize: _It was an alien_. Granted, it was encased in what was obviously a pressure suit, but still, it was an alien.

Not during his lifetime did Archer ever think that he would meet sentient life, much less make first contact, but here he was, and he had to do something. Standing as straight as he could, he said, "I am Captain Jonathan Archer of the Alliance Combat Vessel _Tim Murphy_. I wish you no harm."

The alien cocked its head, and turned over its shoulder, speaking in its own language. Personally, Archer thought it sounded Arabic, just by how the words flowed out of the alien's mouth…if it even had a mouth. The suit's helmet kind of hid its face.

"Sir, we have a package coming in…it looks like a translator program sir," Delacuer said. "Permission to upload it?"

"Granted," Archer said as a new window popped up on the screen, this time showing General Williams.

"_Archer, what the hell is going on?_" he asked. "_I'm getting calls from some eggheads down here screaming that the alien invasion is coming! So, what in the frak is going on?_"

"We are making first contact," Archer said calmly as Delacuer typed away at her console.

"_Monsuier_, package has been inplamented, sending out a dictionary and translator of the English language," she said professionally. "Now we wait."

"_Archer, should I be worried?_" Williams asked.

Archer shook his head. "No, but just in case, prep some of your forces."

Williams nodded. "_Understood. Good luck up there Captain,_" he said before cutting off the transmission. It was then that the alien spoke up, and understandable to Archer and his crew.

"_I am Rael'Zorah vas Alarei. I represent the Quarian people, and we mean no harm to your people._"

Archer nodded and replied. "Captain Alarei, I must say, I thank you for that, but I have to tell you that you need to head somewhere else for continued diplomacy. I'm not a diplomat, and I can't say that I want to be. However," Archer added, pausing to look at Marshfield's screen, "My sensors tell me that several ships in your fleet are damaged, and are at risk. I would like to offer assistance."

Rael's body heaved, and it took Archer a few seconds to realize that he was crying. "_Captain Archer, that…that would be greatly appreciated,_" the 'Quarian' said. "_Is there any way we can repay you?_"

Archer pointed to his ship's aft. "We have a planet full of colonists who'd like to be the first to meet an intelligent species," he said, a slight smile on his lips. "You'll have to leave your ships in our dry dock though, and we'll have to start with the more critical cases first."

Rael nodded. "_Thank you, you have no idea how much this means to our people,_" he said. "_Am I to be escorted down to the planet?_"

Archer shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not," he said. "We'll have to send you to our base over in the Epsilon Indi system. If you'd like, we can modify one of our ships so that you make it there."

Rael was silent. "_You…you would do that? For us? Why?_"

"Because no spacer should ignore the plights of another," Archer answered with the zeal of a monk.

"_I see. Do what you must Captain,_" Rael said. Archer nodded as they cut their transmissions.

[][][]

_Alarei_

"Captain, what do you think of these…whatever they are?" asked Rael's first officer.

Rael sighed. "I think that we may have found an ally," he said. "And I am not going to disrespect the Ancestors for not accepting a gift when I see one."

"But sir, look at the size of that ship!" the first officer said, pointing at the display. "It's already bigger than most turian cruisers! Can you imagine what their dreadnaughts would be like?!"

"I am aware of that!" Rael hissed. "But if we are to survive, we need accept their help!"

The first officer nodded. "Understood Captain. Pardon my outburst, I was just…worried. My bond-mate is on one of the mining ships, and she just told me that they're suffering from a core breech, and that well…."

"I understand," Rael said, grabbing his friend's shoulder. "We'll go and evacuate however many we can. For now, we-"

"Captain, there is another vessel coming in system!" the _Alarei_'s sensor tech screamed. Rael turned and gaped as the ship appeared, both on the display screen in front of him, and outside the viewport.

It was massive, easily a kilometer long, and it gave the distinct impression of an undersea predator; silent, swift, and deadly. "Keelah," Rael whispered. "What is that?"

"_Unknown vessel, this is Rear Admiral Alenko of the A.C.V _Valley Forge," came a voice as the comm was raised. "_We are to escort you to our base over at Epsilon Indi. Be advised, that you are guests. Do anything stupid, and we will respond in kind._"

Rael gulped. "I understand," he said, trying to be brave in the face of this dreadnaught.

"_Now that that is over with, you'll need to link up with us. Are we understood?"_

"Yes. However, can I send some of my people to the surface? They need to get off of their ships for repairs to commence," Rael said.

"_Very well. We'll be sending shuttles to ferry them to the surface, if you tell us which ships need servicing,"_ Alenko said.

"Sending the coordinates for the ships in need of evacuation now," Rael said, nodding to his comm officer.

"_We have coordinates. We'll start sending the shuttles as soon as we can. Now, if you please, we have a trip to make._"

"Of course," Rael said quickly. "We'll be there shortly."

"_Thank you. Alenko out._" The transmission soon cut off.

Rael looked at his communications officer. "Spread the word," he ordered. "We have made contact, and they are helping us."

[][][]

June 9th, 2157 – First Contact is initiated with the Quarians. For security reasons, they are not allowed near the military bases, but they are welcomed by the civilian population. Quarians reveal that there is a larger galactic community, and hand over a small vessel classification guide to the commanding ship, the A.C.V. _Tim Murphy_.

[][][]

"Dude, what do you think these quarians look like?" Veretti asked Caleb as they walked through the streets of Shanxi's capitol city, New Wuhan. Caleb shrugged.

"No idea," he said honestly. "All I know is, they're aliens, and they use element zero for fuel." Veretti shook his head.

"Yeah, but what about weapons man?"

Caleb chuckled. "Angelo, don't worry man. According to the eggheads, they're in rundown P.O.S.s. I doubt they can do much to wipe us off the face of the map," he said as the first shuttle full of quarians entered the airspace of the civilian starport.

A nearby civilian pointed up and chattered away in her native Cantonese, talking to her child. Angelo looked at the transport as it disappeared from view behind the skyscrapers.

"So, Caleb, you still want to hit the town?" the Italian asked. Caleb laughed.

"Hell yes! Now come on, First Contact is something worth drinking for!" he hollered, dragging Angelo into the city.

[][][]

June 11th, 2157 – More ships arrive from the Relay….

[][][]

_A.C.V. Tim Murphy, June 11__th__, 2157_

Marshfield was about to leave his watch when his console beeped an alarm. Shoving his replacement away, Marshfield looked down and promptly swore. "Someone get the captain!" he shouted. "We have unknowns coming in from the relay! Not Quarian!"

In less than a minute, Captain Archer was there on the bridge, looking at the display in front of them. "How many?" he asked.

"Sir," Marshfield said, "I am picking up sixty ships and counting…sir, we now have eighty ships coming in from the relay!"

Archer looked at the tactical map that was now up and running. He only had one cruiser, a _Roosevelt_ class frigate, three _Auburn_ class destroyers, three _John Paul Jones_ class corvettes, a repair and refit station full of grounded Quarian ships, and a new in system _Pilgrim_ class colony ship. "Petty Officer, do the new ships match any of the profiles we have received from the quarians regarding other species' ships?" he asked.

Marshfield looked down at his display. "Sir, DRADIS says that these ships…are turian. Shit, they're powering weapons!"

"All hands, battle stations!" Archer barked. "Delacuer, link all ships to my console! Make sure that they protect the _Cradle_ and the _Traveler from the East_! Collins, raise shields and ready the electrostatic plating! I want safeties off! NOW!"

[][][]

_Turian 12__th__ Fleet, June 11__th__, 2157_

General Desolas looked on in scorn as his fleet's advance force came in from the Mass Relay. They had just picked up the quarians trail, and tracked it to the 314 Relay. If the quarians weren't already criminals for creating A.I., then they were now for activating a relay without the Council's permission.

"General, I'm picking up ten ships in system!" his sensors officer said. "Most of them are in the light cruiser classification, and I'm picking up one dreadnaught sir."

"All ships, fire on my mark at the dreadnaught," Desolas growled. Naval doctrine said that in any engagement involving dreadnaughts, you were to attack and bring down the dreadnaught first. "Let's end this atrocity now."

[][][]

_A.C.V. Tim Murphy_

"Sir, enemy ships are firing!" Marshfield cried out. "They're…oh God no…"

The crew watched as the _Traveller from the East_, a colony ship full of new colonists, and parts to help colonize Shanxi, was attacked. The ship had just ended her Drift when the new ships arrived, and was in the process of turning to flee when the first rounds hit. And then the next few dozen rounds hit. Everyone in orbit around Shanxi watched in horror as the _Traveler _was almost literally blown apart, her core not even having a chance to explode as the slugs tore her apart.

"Petty Officer…did any life-boats launch?" Archer asked quietly in the now dead quiet bridge. Marshfield looked down at his screen.

"N…No sir. No life-boats detected," he whispered.

Archer looked down. Looking back up, the crew noticed his ice cold expression. "Delacuer, send a message drone to Sanctum," he ordered. "Tell them that we are engaged at Shanxi, and need reinforcement."

"Yes sir," Delacuer said, typing away at her console.

"Orders sir?" asked Collins.

"Prepare for attack," Archer said. "And tell Williams that we are at Code Red."

_Shanxi_

Caleb was fast asleep when the alarms started blaring. Jumping out of his bunk, he looked and saw Veretti scrambling to get his gear on. "Angelo, what the hell is going on?!" he asked, rushing to get his own gear on.

"No idea!" Veretti replied. "All I know is that this isn't a drill!" Together, they got their gear on and rushed to the hangers, where the rest of their squad was. Once there, Sergeant Moore spoke.

"Alright ladies, listen up!" he shouted. "At oh-nine hundred, sensors picked up something coming from that relay! It ain't Quarian, and it sure as hell ain't human! Furthermore, it just took out a colony ship, so now, the entire colony is on Red Alert! As of right now, Captain Archer and his men are fighting in orbit, buying us some time to dig in and get ready!"

"Sarge, how many hostile ships are we talking about here?" a private asked.

"By best count, at least eighty ships," Moore said. "The swabbies have only eight ships and the _Cradle_, and they're fighting to buy us time here on the ground! So, get your asses in gear and saddle up! We're moving out to protect the hydrocarbon plant fifty miles from where we are! Now MOVE IT!"

Everyone ran to their mech and strapped in. Well, more like attached their limbs to a harness so that they could control their mech. Moving out, they all quickly grabbed their weapons of choice: M400 A/2 20mm Gauss Rifles for Caleb, Veretti, and Jenkins, P-12 Anti-Armor Plasma Cannon for Grace, and then Moore grabbed what basically equated to a really big machine gun. As a support weapon, all but Veretti got the LYNX Multi Launch Missile System, which had eight SSM-55 'Hammer' missiles, and four BGM-17 'Shark' missiles. Veretti got the M195 82mm howitzer. They, and the other Minutemen, plus the men from Shanxi's Third Infantry Garrison, soon went on their way to protect the power supply of the colony.

The Second Contact War had just started.

XxX

CODEX ENTRY

M18/A3 GENERAL PURPOSE ATTACK MECH: The M18/A3 GPAM, or 'Minuteman' as it is commonly referred to by United States pilots, is a five meter tall vehicle that has been in service at in one form or another since its creation during Earth's Third World War. The pilot uses a master-slave haptic control system to move the mech; force feedback then allows the pilot greater control of the vehicles actions. The M18/A3 looks more or less like a giant steel human, if humans had a swivel mounted set of high powered optics for eyes, electroactive polymers for muscle, and the ability to rip apart a tank.

CRUISER, HUMAN: A human cruiser is not the same as say, a turian or asari cruiser. A turian cruiser is considered a throwaway ship, something to take the heat off of a dreadnaught: a human cruiser is MUCH different. A cruiser is fully capable warship, five hundred meters and plus in length, equipped with enough missiles, bullets, and ordinance to wipe a city off the map. The A.C.V. _Tim Murphy_ is a United North American built _Vermont_ class cruiser, captained by Captain Jonathan Archer.


	3. Let Loose the Dogs of War

_June 11__th__, 2157, Shanxi_

_A.C.V. Tim Murphy_

"Sir, enemy ships are in range of all weapons," Marshfield said as he checked the DRADIS system.

"Collins, fire off pods one through six, and one MAC round," Archer ordered. "Delacuer, have all others do the same."

"Aye sir," the comms officer said briskly, relaying the orders. Archer watched as a plethora of missile pods and more than a few railgun slugs accelerated towards the turian fleet. The alien ships fired lasers at the missiles, assuming that the pods were just giant warheads. Archer would have loved to see their faces as each pod broke apart, sending out anywhere between twenty to forty high-explosive missiles on a collision course with their ships armor.

The missiles slammed into the kinetic barriers, overloading them in seconds and impacting the vunerable ship beneath. And then the MAC slugs arrived.

The Magnetic Acceleration Cannon, so named partly because of its operation, and mostly because of copy-right issues, was pretty much a new thing. Back in 2098, a massive asteroid was flying in towards Europa, which threatened to wipe out the colony there. With quick thinking, and plenty of desperation, the colonists fitted the colony mass driver, a device they used to sling garbage into orbit, onto a colony ship. The ship went to the asteroid, and fired several 300 ton slugs at it, knocking it not only off course, but blasting chunks off of it.

In the fifty-nine years since then, and along with several police actions against insurrections, the MAC had turned from asteroid killer, to a critical piece of military equipment. And the fifty-nine years of work made itself known as the slugs collided with the turian ships, passed through them, gutting them, and then hitting the ships behind them.

Total time since the start of the battle: twenty seconds.

Total number of enemy ships killed: ten, with double that wounded.

"Sir, enemy munitions closing in!" Marshfield cried out. Archer watched as the Serpent Point-Defense System kicked in, killing off multiple torpedoes before they reached his fleet. But as luck would have it, several of the alien munitions penetrated the defensive screen, and hit his ships. The _Tim Murphy_ shook as the warheads detonated, tearing off pieces of high grade Titanium-B armor plating.

"Report!" Archer ordered.

"Multiple breaches on decks A through G, bulkheads thirty to sixty-nine!" reported a crewman. "Fires have been reported on those decks as well!"

"Sir, the _Zorro_ is reporting critical damage, launching life-boats!" Delacuer said tensely. "All other ships are reporting minor damage."

Archer glared at the turian fleet. "Collins, keep our MACs firing, pick your targets! We need to send as many of these fuckers to hell as we can!"

[][][]

_H.W.S. Iron Talon, 12__th__ Fleet_

"Spirits, how in the name of the Titans did these creatures manage to destroy nearly half of my force?!" Desolas cried out as his ship rocked from the impact of more missile pods.

Lieutenant Commander Adrien Vakarian looked at his commanding officer. "Sir, it would seem that they're using slug-throwers," he said. "And we're not reading any Eezo signatures from them at all!"

"Vakarian, I want you to go and get the troops ready for ground action," Desolas ordered as a crewmember spoke up.

"Sir, one of the enemy cruisers is heading right toward us!" the crewman shouted. Desolas turned and gaped at the sight.

It was, according to the sensors, three hundred and forty-nine meters wide, with a rather slim frontal profile. Currently, it was firing all of its torpedo pods into his fleet, managing to cripple four and kill one more before a slug from the _Iron Talon_ slammed into the front of the ship. The front all but caved in, and seconds later, Desolas watched in shock as it exploded in a nuclear fireball. The resulting EMP disabled or destroyed the twelve ships closest to it.

"…Spirits, they use nuclear reactors?" Vakarian muttered as he saw the devastation. Desolas personally growled in rage.

"Call in the rest of the fleet, and begin landing operations," he said. "We'll destroy these ships, even if it kills us!"

"Sir, two more cruisers have been disabled!" the LADAR operator shouted.

[][][]

_A.C.V. Tim Murphy_

"Sir, the _Agincourt_ is gone, all hands," Marshfield said as he got back in his chair. That last round had really hit the _Tim Murphy_ hard, and now, the bridge was in slight disrepair. "_Black Forest_ and _Montgomery_ are disabled, launching life-boats. The _Joan of Arc_ and _Yorkshire_ are standing by."

Damn. A destroyer and corvette lost, the other two destroyers disabled, and only a frigate, a corvette, and his cruiser remained, not including the _Cradle _or Quarian ships.

"Sir, _Cradle _Command reports that the quarian ships are repaired, and charging their FTL," Delacuer reported, ignoring the gash on her head. "They're also planning to evac the station and leave our guests a surprise." Archer groaned as he got back in his chair.

"Understood. What's our status?"

"Every damn level on ol' _Tim_ here is breached," the crewman complained. "We're venting atmosphere, and Engineering reports that the reactor is close to red lining."

Collins groaned. "Munitions down nearly gone sir," he said. "We only have ten pods left sir, and four rounds to the MAC. Serpents are dry."

Marshfield gulped. "Sir, we have a problem," he said, pointing at the display. Archer could see the remaining ships and the relay, and he didn't see what the problem was…

A new contact. Then another. Then another dozen more appearing each second until soon, there were easily a hundred and fifty ships sitting right in front of Archer.

"Sir, General Williams is on the line for you," Delacuer whispered. Archer motioned for her to patch it through.

"_Captain, what's going on up there?_" Williams asked.

"We're outnumbered, and outgunned," Archer replied. "Looks like a Goddamn invasion fleet. The Quarian ships are fleeing, and _Cradle _Command is turning the station into a giant bomb!" The ship rocked from a hit from a missile. "We're not going to last long up here!"

Williams grimaced. "_Well, I need some more time down here to get the troops into position!"_

Archer watched as the quarian ships entered FTL, the ships flashing blue just before they accelerated into God-knew what. "Williams, I'm going to buy some time for you," Archer said. "It has been an honor knowing and serving with you."

Williams looked at Archer, stunned for a second. Then, steeling his resolve, he nodded. "_Do what you have to_," Williams said. "_And the honor was all mine._"

Archer cut off the connection and looked at the battlefield. The _Joan of Arc_, the only frigate they had, was splitting apart, her command section flying off into space, away from the rest of her body. As for the _Yorkshire_, well, she was fending off a pack of small patrol ships…and losing.

"All personnel," Archer said as he keyed in the ship's PA system. "You have a choice now. Get into the escape pods, and head to Shanxi, or stay with me. I will not force you to stay with me."

He looked at his bridge crew expectantly. All he got in return were hard faces of determination. One by one, all sections of his ship reported in. No one was leaving. Archer took a deep breath as a round passed his ship barely.

"Helm, all ahead full," he ordered calmly. "Take us right in the thick of it."

[][][]

_H.W.S. Iron Talon_

"Sir, the largest cruiser is accelerating," the LADAR officer said. Desolas looked over and for once in his life, was awestruck.

The alien cruiser was pockmarked with disruptor craters and slug shards, yet it was still flying. Desolas himself couldn't help but admire it. It was angular, much like a turian ship, but it had a certain grace to it, much like the asari designed ships. And even with chunks missing, that ship was still heading towards his fleet in what was obviously a suicide run.

"All ships, focus fire on that cruiser!" Desolas shouted. "Don't let it come any closer!"

As one, all one hundred and sixty odd ships fired at the cruiser…only to miss as it vanished in a wormhole. And Desolas was, in a word, shocked, when said cruiser reappeared in the middle of his fleet, and proceeded to unload everything it had onto his ships. It did so with great success, up until Desolas' dreadnaught holed it, finally killing it.

Desolas turned to his ship's display screen, and looked through the casualty list for this engagement. It was…disturbing. He had lost nearly sixty ships, with another thirty-eight damaged, and forty disabled ships. Spirits, how could eight cruisers deal that much damage to a fleet?

"Sir, should we investigate the larger vessel?" asked his helmsman. Desolas looked over and saw the ship his officer was talking about. It was long, it was flat, and it was ugly as sin.

"Send in two wolf packs," Desolas ordered. "And begin securing the area around the planet. I'm going down with the men."

[][][]

_June 11__th__, 2157_

_Shanxi Hydrocarbon Plant_

Caleb and the rest of his team reached the plant, just as the _Cradle _above in orbit exploded.

"Il mio Dio!" Veretti muttered as they got to the plant's outer perimeter. "So, we have no orbital support?"

"Apparently," Caleb said as Sergeant Moore talked with the infantry commander. "All that means is that we get more kills."

"Listen up!" Moore shouted as he hustled over to the other mechs. "Our wonderful Captain Fin Lang want us to cover the entrance to the plant, and provide fire support for the rest of the infantry! If you have questions, speak up now!"

"Sir, what do we know of the enemy?" Jenkins asked, hefting his Gauss Rifle.

Moore shrugged. "No idea, but we'll make them bleed for what they did to the _Traveler_," he said. "Now, move it!"

The five mechs moved to their positions at the entrance to the hydrocarbon plant, and from there, there stood and or crouched in a staggered line. Veretti, Caleb, and Jenkins were in the rear, Moore was just in front of them, covering Grace with his 60mm machine gun, and Grace was readying her plasma cannon for action.

About half an hour later, Veretti pointed up. "Incoming contacts!" he cried out, shouldering his rifle and bringing the barrel of his howitzer to bear. Caleb looked and saw the balls of fire that meant one thing.

Ships. And who knew how many troops were in one of those things? Several of the balls of fire peeled off from the main group and started heading towards them, and as they approached, the hulls cooled down enough for the garrison troops to get their first look at the opposition. Most of the ships were small, only about a hundred meters, maybe one fifty _at most_, and they were heading down to the ground. Then there were the bigger ones, and everyone, infantry and mech pilot, knew that these were the real threat.

"Sarge, I have range on the transports," Veretti said over the radio. "What are my orders?"

"Wait for whatever they have for armor to get here, and await the command from Captain Lang," Moore answered gruffly. Verreti clicked his radio, accepting the answer.

Caleb was nervous. Sure, he had seen some action putting the riots on Ganymede, and then there was the New Mecca Campaign, but this? He didn't know how to fight an alien foe. Humans, yes. He was trained to kill other humans if need be. Aliens? Well, he'd soon find out.

"Sir, contact, extreme range," Jenkins said, looking down his rifle's scope. Moore nodded and relayed the information to Lang, who then gave the order to prepare to fire.

Caleb flexed his hand, taking several breathes to calm his nerves. It would be five more minutes before the alien forces even came within range. And that was just fine with Lang.

Five minutes later, they were within eight hundred meters of the plant before Lang acted. "打开火!" Lang cired out, bringing his own rifle to bear on the invaders. As one, the infantry and mechs fired, sending lead, ferromagnetic tungsten flechettes, and plasma downrange.

[][][]

_12__th__ Turian Legion, D Company, Second Squad_

_Five minutes ago…_

Turian Sergeant Saren Arterius was leading his squad to the building ahead of them, and he wasn't scared a bit. He was a Turian dammit, and nothing would make him lose the pride in being one!

"Sergeant, what do you think we'll be facing?" a private behind him asked.

Saren glanced back and growled, "A bunch of underpowered suit rats with failing guns. Now be quiet, the structure is in sight."

And frankly, Saren had to wonder why anybody would still be using fossil fuels. They were so…inefficient. But then again, it wasn't half as bad as using a nuclear reactor. That in itself was a gross misallocation of resources.

They were about eight hundred meters away when they were attacked. Without warning, bullets began hitting the turians _en mass_, and that was not counting the giant darts that were now sticking out of the IFVs behind Saren. Seeing something fly towards him, Saren ducked and watched with dread as a massive ball of energy utterly vaporized everyone in its path, finally detonating an IFV.

Bringing his assault rifle up, Saren pulled off a few shots before ducking behind a rock, his squad-what was left of it now anyway-did the same.

"Spirits, energy weapons?!" cried out a private. "What in Palaven's name are we dealing with?!"

Saren shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I will not back out now!" With that, he popped out of cover and fired a burst, and then went back into cover as bullets peppered where his head was. And if were possible, his face was pale his helmet.

"They…they have geth," he whispered, shocking his squad into silence as their comrades were being slaughtered.

[][][]

_Hydrocarbon Plant_

"Contact, two o'clock!" Jenkins shouted as he pointed his rifle at what may have been a tank.

Caleb stopped firing at the IFV that was about a hundred meters away from the first line of infantry and focused on the tank. In human terms, the vehicle that he and Jenkins quickly put down barely qualified as a tank. It was small, barely had any armor, and the rounds didn't really do much, other than make people duck their heads.

"Damn, you'd think that an advanced alien race would be a bit more, well, you know, advanced!" Jenkins complained as he swung his rifle back to cover Veretti.

"Less talk, more shooting!" Moore shouted as his armor was dented by a giant slug that shattered almost uselessly. He twisted his body around, and fired a long burst in the general area that the shell came from.

So far, the battle was going well for Shanxi's Third Infantry Garrison Company and Fireteam Charlie. In the past three minutes alone, they had reduced the near battalion sized group to that of about three companies. While the aliens, who looked rather like someone had taken a falcon, a dog, and a man, and stuck them all together, had the advantage in numbers, the defenders had more. For starters, cover. The hydrocarbon plant was designed to take damage, without igniting the precious gases inside. The second advantage was simple motivation. As any soldier in history will tell you, you fight harder when on your own turf. The third, and so far best advantage they had, was their guns.

The 7.62x39mm bullet was an old round by human standards. Yet 206 years after it was first made, the bullet was still alive and kicking, as evidenced by the wonderful bullet holes in the alien bodies. Then there was the bigger 20mm flechettes used by the Minuteman's Gauss Rifle. Although, the flechettes had **nothing** on Moore's massive 60mm machine gun. In essence, those who were exposed to the mechs and defenders, generally died very quickly.

Suddenly, a missile came out from behind a rock and slammed into the heart of Moore's mech. For a split second, it looked like Moore was going to be fine. But it was then that another missile, then another slammed into him, blowing off most of his right side, and exposing the grizzled Sergeant within. With a titanic slam, the mech dropped to the ground, sending men and women scrambling to get away, in the process getting shot and killed.

"MAN DOWN!" Jenkins yelled, firing his rifle at the rock. Breaking formation, Caleb went with Jenkins to get Moore out of the mech safely. Providing support fire, Caleb kneeled in front of Jenkins as the latter peeled of the chest plates of the mech to get at Moore. "Oh God, he's hurt bad man," Jenkins said shakily as he gently lifted Moore out of the mech and placed him next to his chest.

"Jenkins, move dammit!" Caleb shouted as he fired a burst from his rifle before it clicked dry. "Shit!" he cried out, instinctively swapping out mags.

Jenkins took the hint and hustled back to the entrance of the plant, handing Moore over to a medic before standing back up to help Caleb. Caleb ran back under the stream of flechettes to Veretti's side. "Well, this fucking sucks!" he griped to the Italian.

Veretti fired off a shell from his howitzer and looked at Caleb. "Of course this sucks, we're fighting aliens when we should be getting a date!" he said furiously as he fired again, killing another group of alien soldiers.

All of a sudden, the fire stopped. Grace, confused, turned to look back at the other mechs. "_The fuck?_" she commented, echoing the same statement in everyone's mind at the moment.

[][][]

_Saren's Squad…still behind the rock…._

Saren was fuming. The entire time that this fight was going on, he and his squad had been pinned down behind this rock, and it was only a matter of time before said rock was blasted apart. Saren had barely managed to kill one of the massive geth platforms, only to watch as two more sprinted over to it, pull something out of its chest, and run back.

"Sarge, what do we do?" asked one of his surviving privates. Saren growled.

"Well, we know that our shields do absolutely nothing against their bullets, and those geth units have a weakness to anti-armor rockets," he said, trying to find a way to win this. "Private, how many more rockets do you have for that launcher?"

"Two sir."

Saren stayed silent as he peered over the edge of the rock, and ducked back down. "Very well. We call in an airstrike and reinforcements, in that order. Corporal, place the call," he ordered.

The corporal nodded and quickly called in an airstrike at their location, even adding in that they were the last elements of their force. It was then that Saren got some bad news: apparently, the Quarian's new allies were…persistent, to say the least. Because so far, the main force heading to the city was actually stopped dead in its tracks, with the unknown alien resistance hammering the living shit out of the turians. Their gunships were being shot out of the sky by a combination of rockets, massive geth platforms, and aircraft that came out of nowhere and started blasting pilots out of the air.

"Then what in the Spirits can I get?!" Saren yelled, causing a burst of fire to hit the rock.

"_Cabels._"

And that made Saren smile.

[][][]

CODEX:

MINUTEMAN M400 20mm GAUSS RIFLE: The M400 is a rifle only in the sense that the barrel has rifling in it. Other than that, it is a miniature rapid-fire cannon. Firing 20mm wide darts at Mach 12, the M400 can easily penetrate most conventional light armor systems. It is also fitted with a laser designator for use with the LYNX Multi-Launch Missile System, and can be fitted with an optional scope for sniping duties. The M400 fires a two hundred and fifty round box magazine at a rate of 1200 rounds per minute.

[][][]

**A/N: I'm sorry that I couldn't post this fast enough for you guys, but, when writing, it takes a while for me to come to a good conclusion. Now, to address some reviews…**

**HomemadeBong: The Quarians were the First Contact. Turians Second. Hence **_**Second**_** Contact War.**

**evalsaint93: No, I do not have Gundams in this story. This is not a cross-over. Plus, the mechs in this story are not as large, nor as grossly designed as those.**

**dwennon: Yes.**

**Killroy225: Thank you for your help, and please, continue telling me where I can improve.**

**The Dutch dude: I thank you for the review. Now, my reasons. First off, I am a U.S. Citizen. I have a right to be biased to my own country. However, the point of this story is to entertain, not predict the future. Yes, we're in a slump right now. Doesn't mean we'll stay in it.**

**As for everything else, please, give me a constructive review. Tell me what I did right, what I can fix, and tell me if you happen to like the way the story is going. NO flames, or one line statements saying 'interesting.' I hate those, and they don't help me as a writer. **

**But please, Read and Review, and have a nice time!**


	4. Capture

_June 11__th__, 2157, Shanxi_

_Hydrocarbon Plant_

Seven hours. That was how long ago the original attack was, and it was sending everyone on edge. Veretti was starting to hum the Italian National Anthem, Jenkins was watching _Aliens_ for the umpteenth time, Caleb was out of his mech, inspecting his own weapons, and Grace…well, she was keeping watch. The rest of the defenders were taking care of what few wounded they had, and otherwise milling about, bored.

"How long are those bastards going to sit behind that rock?" Grace finally said, breaking the silence.

Verreti shrugged. "Not a clue," he said. "Besides, we're still here, right? So, they might be here because we're still here."

Grace glared at him through her mech's optics. "Verreti, if you start quoting that _Red vs. Blue_ crap, I'm going to hurt you," she warned him. Caleb looked up, seemingly hurt at the woman's words.

"_Red vs. Blue_? Crap?" he gasped in mock horror. "My God, what kind of blasphemy is this, to declare the glorious misadventures of Blood Gulch crap?! Grace, you should be ashamed of yourself!"

Grace was about to retort when they all heard the sound of vehicles approaching. "Contacts approaching!" Grace shouted, bringing her cannon about, charging it as fast as the reactor could allow.

Everyone sprang into action. Veretti jumped up and leveled his howitzer, taking cover behind a piece of torn off plating from the plant. Jenkins was crouching nearby, his mech holding up several militiamen as he aimed his rifle downrange. Caleb had all but flown back into his mech, strapped himself in, and got up, readying his missile system. The rest of the militiamen, led by Lang, aimed their weapons in preparation.

Suddenly, smoke began covering the space between them and the surviving aliens. "Shit, they got reinforced!" Jenkins shouted.

"No, you think?" Caleb asked sarcastically as he switched to thermal vision. Ah, there they were. "Twelve IFVs, dropping off …two squads each," he said. "Captain, permission to engage?"

Lang growled his denial as a private translated. "He says no. He wishes to see what these can do."

The four mech pilots looked at each other uneasily.

[][][]

"Nyreen Kandros," Saren said as a female Cabalist kneeled beside him. "It's an honor to serve with you."

"Save it," Nyreen said coolly. "Just tell me what we're facing here."

Saren nodded. "We have what seems to be a company sized infantry force holed up in the plant," he began. "They have sniper nests here, on top of the silos, and machine gun nests behind the walls. As for there geth, well, we killed one, but there are still four left. One of them, the one closest to us, has some kind of plasma cannon."

Nyreen nodded. "Thank you. Now, let us do what you couldn't do," she said. Saren watched as she got up and popped out of cover with one of her soldiers. Looking at the odd-looking geth before them, Nyreen and the other Cabalist lifted their arms and generated a mass effect field around the platform.

"Spirits, how much does this thing weigh?" the Cabalist answered. Nyreen was about to answer when she saw two other platforms raise their guns and aim at them.

"Get down!" she shouted. She let the field dissipate and dropped down to the ground as massive darts streaked by her at incomprehensible speeds. Her soldier wasn't so lucky. She was simply blown to blue bits of gore and armor.

Nyreen looked up, saw the platform she had lifted struggle to get up, and growled viciously. With a push of her hand, Nyreen created a Warp on it, hoping that would kill its fragile computer circuitry. It didn't. Now pissed, and avoiding getting shot at, she ducked back behind the rock and primed a grenade. Saren watched as she tossed it over the rock. Seconds later it exploded. Saren and Nyreen both popped out of cover and watched in horror as the platform shrugged the explosion off.

Saren began peppering it with bullets, and Nyreen created a Barrier between it and the two of them. With a flash, the platform and the defenders opened fire. The barrier held…barely, as the barrage of bullets slammed into the dark energy wall. Saren fired an overcharged shot from his rifle, and it somehow struck its cannon's power cell.

[][][]

"Shit, Grace, get it off, get it _OFF_!" Caleb yelled as he ducked back to reload his gun. At this time, the aliens had finally figured that staying behind the rocks meant staying alive, and were firing with relative impunity.

Grace was running back, struggling to get the nuclear reactor off her back when she was hit from behind with a volley of missiles. Shit happened in the span of seconds. One, the reactor core was breached, and sent into critical condition, soon to detonate. Two, as this was happening, the missiles blew off the head and right arm of Grace's mech, not to mention destroying the mech's main battery. Third, and finally, the core exploded.

The explosion was spectacular, but Jenkins, Caleb, and Verreti both knew the grim truth: Grace was fried. Literally, as what remained of her mech tumbled fifty meters to its front on the ground before stopping, its twisted, mangled body steaming and glowing as it cooled down from having a thermonuclear bomb detonate on its back.

Grace's death apparently spurred something with the aliens, because they began firing en masse. Men started dropping like flies, and some kind of singularity popped up and ripped apart the heavy machine gun nest, killing the crew and the Captain.

Caleb blanched, and continued firing. "Dammit, someone get on the horn and tell Command they got some kind of super-soldier!" Caleb shouted. "The Captain's dead, and I don't know who's in command!"

A nearby militiaman looked up at him fearfully, his eyes communicating what the language barrier couldn't: Caleb was in charge. Caleb looked at the huddled men and women, saw his friends under attack, and made his decision. Turning, he armed his designator and aimed at the group of super-soldiers, and fired a pair of missiles.

They slammed into the ground, killing several dozen of the aliens, and injuring many others. "Everyone, fall back to the rally point! I need engineers to shut the valve off and rig this place to blow!" Caleb commanded, firing a quick burst. "Jenkins, Veretti, I want you two to provide escort for the survivors! Now move it, on the double people!"

The remaining soldiers dashed off to follow Caleb's desperate orders. A pair of combat engineers went and, and about ten minutes later (and Caleb almost running out of ammo for his rifle), told him that the place was ready to blow. Jenkins and Veretti were running alongside what few IFVs were remaining, keeping those alive. Escorting the last IFV, Caleb looked back at the aliens who were sending him some potshots, and fired a pair of rockets at them. Running on, he thumbed the detonator that the engineers had given him.

The plant exploded in a spectacular fireball, sending shrapnel flying in all directions. Caleb shook inside his mech as the shockwave passed through him. For once, Caleb really wished he wasn't a mech pilot.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp stab of pain in his back. Howling in pain, Caleb tumbled to the ground, dropping his gun. Looking up, he saw an alien holding a smoking hot missile launcher. Caleb looked over his shoulder to the fleeing convoy. Seconds later, he felt something his mech's head, and then the entire system shut down. Caleb groaned. Of all the places to be captured, it had to be in his own mech.

[][][]

Saren walked over to the fallen geth platform. "Are you sure it's disabled?" he asked Nyreen. Nyreen nodded.

"Yes," she said simply as she walked up onto it. "If it weren't, we'd all be dead by now. Now, let's see what this platform knows." Nyreen found a lever on its chest, and pulled it. There was a slight hiss as the chest plates disengaged their locks and slid open…only to reveal a _very_ pissed off alien soldier, who happily began firing its SMG at Nyreen. She barely had enough time to dodge and bring up a Barrier. Saren himself jumped onto the platform and got behind the alien. With a snarl, Saren slammed the butt of his rifle onto the back of the alien's head. With a slump, the alien fell onto the platform, unconscious.

Saren looked up at Nyreen. "These things are piloted?!" he said incredulously. Nyreen looked at the mech.

"Well, it does explain why it was protecting them," she said. "After all, since when do the geth care about organic life?" Saren chuckled darkly.

"They don't," he said. "Listen, I'm going to call in for pick-up, tell them we have a prisoner."

Nyreen shrugged. "Do what you want Sergeant. I have places that Command wants my Cabal to be," she said, holstering her pistol. She quickly walked away and into a waiting IFV. "And you did well, for someone related to our commander," she added.

Saren's chest puffed with pride. He looked down at the alien and scowled. Now, to get this alien pilot somewhere safe to gather some information.

[][][]

_Shanxi Garrison Command, New Wuhan, Shanxi_

General Williams was furious as reports flooded in, and privates, lieutenants, and the occasional major came up and updated him on the battle. So far, the fleet was gone, and on the ground, he had suffered some one thousand and two hundred casualties. Eight hundred and twelve were KIA, and the rest were wounded. Williams sighed as a runner came up to him.

"General, the hydrocarbon plant has been destroyed sir," he said. "Third Infantry Company and MI Fire Team Charlie are pulling back to their rally point. They're also saying that one of their pilots has been captured sir, they want to know if you have any orders for that."

Williams groaned. "Is Rally Point India still under attack?" he asked. The runner shook his head.

"No sir, but there is a fairly large force heading to it; they think it's to make a hole in our perimeter, get to the city."

Williams sighed. "Tell them to hold their positions. We have more things to worry about than rescuing a single pilot at the moment."

The runner nodded before running away.

Williams groaned. He didn't want to leave that pilot, he really didn't. Hell, he himself was His Majesty's Mechanized Infantry his first tour in the British Armed Services. But right now, he just couldn't afford to send a team and rescue this pilot. He needed his men out there, on the line, defending New Wuhan.

Right now, the main force was holding. There were several other points that the invaders were trying to get through, much like at Rally Point India, but those too were holding out. Williams frowned. It was a three day journey through Subspace to Epsilon Indi, and another month from there to Earth. It was going to be a long ass fight then….

_But then again,_ Williams thought, _since when does humanity ever back down from a fight?_

[][][]

June 11th, 2157 – First Day of the Second Contact War. Initial human losses are high, with over three thousand casualties, half of them from the total destruction of the _Agincourt_, _Yorkshire_, _Joan of Arc_, _Tim Murphy_, and the civilian colony ship _Traveler from the East_. The Turians lose well over fifty ships, while suffering from over a hundred more in various states of damage. Turian ground assault falters due to unexpected levels of resistance from the human defenders. Turian losses are high due to kinetic barriers not registering their bullets, and the unexpected sight of battle-mechs.

[][][]

_Unknown Location_

Caleb awoke with a start as someone flashed a _very_ damn bright light in his face. "Uugghh," Caleb groaned as he opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the lighting. Looking up, he jumped in surprise, only to be slammed back into his chair by restraints. Hissing in pain, he looked up to see a pair of aliens, Turians as they didn't have the HAZMAT suited look of the Quarians, in front of him.

"Alright you assholes, what the hell do you want?" Caleb asked defiantly. In response, one of the turians walked up to Caleb. Eyeing the turian warily, Caleb asked, "Hey, what the hell are you-" just as it grabbed his head, and shoved something into his ear. Caleb shook his head wildly as the turian backed off. "Hey, what the hell did you just shove in my ear?!" he shouted indignantly at the two aliens.

The turian that stayed where it was huffed in annoyance. "_We just planted a translator into your ear,_" it growled. Caleb looked at the turian in awe.

"Oh, great, so, how did you folks learn English?" he asked.

The other turian laughed. "_We took the data off of one your ships we destroyed,_" it said. "_It also had Keelish, which makes it just a tad easier for us to understand you in turn._" Now that Caleb thought about it, there was a bit of odd feedback coming in through his translator.

"_Now, I am Commander Victus,_" said the Turian who first spoke to Caleb. "_That there is Sub-Commander Qu'in. We are going to ask you some questions, and you will answer them._"

Caleb rolled his eyes. "Bring it on Commander Ass-wipe," he said derogatorily.

Victus growled. "_First off, you will answer me with respect!"_ he said coldly.

"And I will," Caleb retorted, "If and when I feel you have earned it."

Victus growled even louder, and promptly punched Caleb in the gut. "_This planet, how many more like it are there?_" he asked, standing up.

"No…clue…," Caleb breathed out as he caught his breath. "I never really cared."

Qu'in looked over at Caleb. "_Very well,_" he said. "_We'll ask something easier. How many people are defending this planet?_"

Caleb started laughing. Loudly. Victus grunted. "_What's so funny?_" he asked.

Caleb looked up at the turians. "You don't get it," he said, trying to control himself. "It isn't a matter of who's defending a planet. This about you guys just killing off whole families who couldn't fight back, this is about revenge now. There isn't a list of defenders, because as of now, everyone is fighting you," Caleb added. "Everyone, from the militiaman, to the janitor, to the little kid on the playground, using nothing but a rock and a stick! We will fight you to the last man, woman, and child, and when everyone finds out about this…." Caleb chuckled again. "Pal, if a Tiger Wanzer dropped on you, I'd have no sympathy whatsoever," he told them.

Victus rolled his head. "_Qu'in, stick him in a cell. We'll deal with him later,_" he said to his fellow soldier. Qu'in nodded and proceeded to drag Caleb's chair out a door, down the hall, taking a left, down another hall full of cells stuffed with human prisoners, and into a cell with nobody in it. Leaving him be, Qu'in shut the door and walked away.

Looking at his fellow prisoners of war, Caleb asked, "Hey, who's in charge?"

Across the way from Caleb, Marshfield looked up. "That'd be Captain Archer, but they have him somewhere else, along with all the other officers," he said wearily. "Why?"

"Just want to know my orders," Caleb replied, leaning back in his chair. "So, what's your name?"

"Marshfield. Yours?"

"Shepherd. You Navy?"

"Yeah. Was the DRADIS operator. You?"

"Mobile Infantry. Sixth Division, Third Regiment, Delta Company."

"Damn, so you're a Roughneck?" Marshfield asked, awed.

Caleb nodded. "Yep, and damn proud of it."

Marchfield laughed. "So, you have any drops under your belt?"

"Two," Caleb answered. "Saw action on Sirius, and now here. How about you?"

"First time in combat," Marshfield said. "I was on the _Tim Murphy_. Bastards tore him in half. Was the only reason they got us."

Caleb huffed. "They disabled my mech as I was escorting what was left of the infantry company we were supporting back to the rally point. They popped the hatch, and knocked me out," he said bitterly.

Marshfield sighed. "Well, without Captain Archer, or any of the officers, well, we can't exactly plan a way to get out. Not unless you have some kind of ace in the hole," he said. Caleb smiled.

"I do," he responded simply. Marshfield looked at him wide eyed.

"Where?"

"Rig," Caleb answered. "Hey, do you sing much?"

Marshfield shook his head. "No, why?"

"Well, I was figuring we could always annoy the fuck out of our captors."

"Oh. Any songs you had in mind?"

Two minutes later, the turians got to hear a live performance of the Earth musical hit, "We Will Rock You, or, We Are the Champions," by Queen. And it pissed them off to no end.

[][][]

CODEX ENTRY

MOBILE INFANTRY: The Mobile Infantry is the United North American Confederation's mech division. Formed in the aftermath of World War III, the M.I. has seen action in revolts, insurrections, and police actions up to 2157. Every member is a trained pilot and rifleman, as mech pilots have been known to exit their mechs to fight the enemy. The EU of course have their own versions, both British and German, and the Russians are well known for their "fight or die" attitude. The Japanese have very few M.I. units, but their high level of skill more than makes up for their numbers.

[][][]

**A/N: I do not own Starship Troopers either. Next chapter may feature politics. Look for edits in the previous chapters.**


End file.
